


God Bless the NHS

by demigodbeautiies



Series: stupid fucking horses [1]
Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Anxiety, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Injuries, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:35:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29902560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demigodbeautiies/pseuds/demigodbeautiies
Summary: What exactly did BBC America mean when it said "HRH Henry Fox, Prince of Wales, taken to hospital"?--Henry has an accident, and Alex can't do anything to help.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Percy "Pez" Okonjo
Series: stupid fucking horses [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2203905
Comments: 32
Kudos: 181





	God Bless the NHS

**Author's Note:**

> This is just something I thought of randomly in the morning and had to get out onto paper! So it's nothing big, but I hope you enjoy!
> 
> It really isn't angsty, just mostly soft fluff. 
> 
> It's also literally only T because I can't write without dropping in too many swears lmao

Alex wasn’t a fan of having a panic attack before 10 am, but here he was.

What exactly did BBC America mean when it said  _ HRH Henry Fox, Prince of Wales, taken to hospital _ ?  __

His phone had buzzed on his desk next to his hand, before he had thought to put it away in the silence of the library he sat in. He had reached for it, unthinking, to read what it said before really getting a start on his project.

He pushed himself up to stand without conscious thought, body moving on autopilot as he read the words before him.

It felt like the ground was tipping out from under him. He read the headline once more, eyes scanning over it from start to finish again and again, without really comprehending what it meant. 

_ HRH Henry Fox, Prince of Wales, taken to hospital. _

“You okay, man?” the guy sitting across from him asked. He swallowed, hard, before opening his mouth, no words coming out. 

“I-”

And just as fast as the panic swept over him, a notification from Henry appeared. 

**Henry:** No one panic   
**Henry:** But I am in hospital

**Pez:** boys trip ✌🏿   
**Pez:** [image attachment]

Alex felt relief flare through him at the speed of light when he saw the photo of Henry, looking very tired but relatively unscathed on a hospital bed. There was a Nurse in the photo sorting out something with his cast as he watched on. In the foreground was Pez, throwing up a peace sign and a wide grin. 

Henry was fine.

Alex stepped away from his desk to move to the quiet hallway, legs still shaking with the rush of adrenaline as notifications poured through. 

**Nora** : f 

**Bea** : f

**June** : What happened?

**Pez** : he fell in valiant battle 

**Henry** : Stupid fucking horses   
**Henry** : I’m fine

**Pez** : AKA when you’re a prince they give you looooots of painkillers    
**Pez** : [image attachment]

Henry was looking wholly unamused at the camera Pez had pointed at him, white cast around his arm as he sat on the hospital bed. 

Alex sighed, ducking his head forward to his chin, still shaking. 

If he was okay enough to be annoyed, there wasn’t any severe damage.

Henry was fine.

He looked down at his phone to see an incoming call, a British number blinking on his screen.

“Hey, mate,” Pez said into the phone, “Don’t check the news, but-”

“I’m  _ fine,”  _ a voice said, muffled and annoyed, “You’re going to give him a panic attack.”

“Too late for that,” Alex managed, and Henry groaned. 

“Darling,” he said, and Alex heard rustling that seemed like Henry was crawling across his bed to get to Pez’s phone. “Darling. I’m okay-”

“Henry,” he said, “Are you-”

“Your Highness-” a voice said, cutting him off. Alex heard Henry mutter something quiet under his breath. 

“I’m fine,” he said, to Alex, or to the person who had walked into the room, it wasn’t clear. The line went quiet for a moment save for some quiet murmuring Alex couldn’t make out, before Henry sighed.

“Darling,” he said, again, this time definitely addressed to Alex, “I’m okay. I promise. I have to go, but I’ll call you tonight. Please don’t worry.”

“Okay,” he said, forcing himself to trust Henry. He was fine. “Be- Okay.”

“I love you,” Henry said, quietly, and Alex’s heart fluttered. 

“I love you too, baby,” he said, wishing he could just check one more time that Henry was actually okay - 

The call ended, and Alex sighed. 

Henry was fine. Henry was fine. Henry was fine.

“Hey,” a voice said, and he looked up to find a girl across the hall, looking at him with concern in her eyes. He recognised her, he thought, from one of his tutorials. Her name was either Aiko or Akane, and he hated that he couldn’t even remember behind the fog of anxiety.

“Are you okay?” she asked, and Alex blinked, getting the distinct impression she had already asked him. 

He swallowed, and nodded, not trusting himself to speak. 

“My boyfriend,” he said, not finishing the sentence. 

Henry was fine. Henry was fine. Henry was fine. 

“You’re the guy dating the Prince of England, right?” she asked, and Alex nodded, biting back a correction that actually, he was the Prince of Wales. 

“I saw the news. Is he- are you-”

“Just a broken arm,” Alex managed, and she smiled. 

“Oh cool,” she said, and grimaced. “Well, not cool. You know what I mean.”

“Yeah,” he said, smiling at her, trying to use the charm he had been told he always had to cover up any residual panic. 

She nodded with a smile and stepped back, and Alex felt the energy it had taken him to hold himself together drain in a second. The anxiety had lessened, now, as if the more times he repeated that it was just a broken bone, the less pain Henry was in, but he had a feeling it would be back before long. 

Henry was _ fine.  _

  
  
  


He spent a good portion of the rest of the day fretting, as expected. 

It was one thing to know that it was a broken arm and nothing more, but to know Henry was on the other side of the world, likely in pain, while he could do fuck all to help - 

It was a particularly unique sense of helplessness. 

He had heard from Henry’s own mouth that he was okay, had seen photos and updated news articles that confirmed it was only a fracture, that he had had a fall, that it was just a minor break, that he was still in top shape. 

But the panic stuck, and it was terrifying. 

So the next few hours were spent putting any and every thought firmly out of mind, focusing first on work, then food, then work, then the trip home, until he curled up into himself on the sofa that all of a sudden felt too big.. 

The FaceTime alert rang just once before he answered it, practically melting with relief at the sight of Henry. He looked exhausted, and drained, but he was tucked up in bed, and safe.

“I love you,” Alex said, and Henry just laughed, smiling back at him. 

“I’m not dying,” he said, “It’s a broken arm, dear.”

“Then tell BBC America to fix their headlines.”

“I’ll make a note,” Henry said, raising his broken hand to nudge his hair out of his eyes - 

“Did you paint your cast?” Alex asked; Henry just groaned, glancing at the bright rainbow stripes now covering the cast that had once been plain white, as if he forgot.

“Pez did while I was high as all fuck,” he muttered, “I had no choice.”

“I think it suits you, sweetheart,” Alex said, grinning, “Very on brand.”

“I have to be in public tomorrow, Alex,” he groaned. 

“So you’re still coming back?” he asked, heart fluttering with hope. Henry smiled at him, looking so disgustingly  _ in love.  _

“Of course,” he said, “It’s not like they let me carry my own bags anyway.”

Alex nodded, saying nothing, caught up in the thought of seeing Henry in just a day, in seeing him  _ now,  _ alive and awake and okay. 

He swallowed, hard. The panic he had felt seeing that first headline was unrivalled, something he hadn’t even known he could feel. And to see him now, seeing him be okay, was a lot. 

It seemed like that was clear to Henry, too, now.

“Alex,” he said, and Alex caught his eye through the small screen. His gaze was inscrutable. “I promise I’m fine.”

“I know,” he said, “I know that. It was just - I couldn’t have done anything about it even if you weren’t.”

“We should have called you sooner,” Henry said, and Alex shook his head. “It was all just a rush and then-”

“No, baby,” he said, and Henry shut his mouth, smiling just slightly. “It’s okay. You- it’s okay.”

“I’ll be home this time tomorrow,” he said, “And we can do whatever you want. Just us tomorrow, until you believe I’m fine.”

“I’d like that,” he said, 

“I love you, Alex,” Henry said, “So much.” 

“Love you too, Henry,” he said, smiling and wanting so badly to kiss him. 

  
  
  
  


The airport was busier than usual, perhaps knowing that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales would be coming through in a matter of minutes. 

It was a crowd Alex had grown increasingly familiar with, in the same way he was familiar with the way faces in the crowd would spot him and point, whispering quietly to the people at their sides that  _ that’s the Prince’s boyfriend.  _

He’d usually pause and smile, wave, stop for a selfie when asked, but-

He needed to see Henry. 

The bonus of dating royalty was that they didn’t need to concern themselves with something as silly as  _ queues,  _ but it was an agonizing wait nonetheless. Alex could feel himself pacing, fidgeting with a loose string on the cuff of his jacket, while he waited, and waited, eyes darting up every time the doors at the end of the room swung open.

And then, there he was. 

Social etiquette be damned, Alex ran, ducking under the metal barrier and darting in front of his boyfriend. He felt blessed that the guards around Henry recognised him fast enough to stop from shooting him.

Henry startled, stepping back once before he broke out into a wide grin. 

“Holy fuck,” Alex breathed, pulling him into a tight hug and pressing quick kisses repeatedly on his forehead, his cheeks, his lips.

“Ah, ow,” Henry said, and Alex pulled back, too fast, grimacing as Henry raised his cast up as a reminder not to squish his newly broken arm. 

“Sorry,” Alex said.

“It’s okay. But there’s only so much codeine can do,” he said, smiling. Alex laughed, breathless.

He hadn’t realised just how terrified he had been for the past day until he saw Henry here, now, in more or less one piece.

Alex kissed him, again. Not desperately, but with an energy he knew he had built up from the past 24 hours. He felt Henry stumble back just a step, unprepared, before he kissed him back with just as much fervor. 

To think that there had been a time once where he would have never dreamed of kissing this man in public. It was unthinkable, when it was so easy to press kiss after kiss to his lips for the world to see. 

Yet all he wanted now was to get home so he could hold him, without worrying about prying eyes.

“You’re blocking the exit, your Highness,” Shaan said, quietly at their side. Alex pulled back, hand linking instantly with Henry’s unbroken one. He could see Henry nod, tugging Alex’s hand along until he got the hint and followed him out of the airport. 

Henry smiled at the people that waved his way and raised his cast at them, never letting go of Alex’s hand.

When their front door shut with a click hours later, the first thing Alex did was reach for Henry. He shot his hand out to grab the back of Henry’s shirt, clutching it tight between his fingers. 

Henry turned to look at him, eyebrows raised for half a second before catching on Alex’s face. 

He wasn’t sure what his face was doing, but he could imagine. He was drained, all the anxiety flooding out of him now that Henry was here, at home, with him. He wanted to hold him, and love him, and keep him safe, where he hadn’t been able to earlier.

Henry just sighed and drew Alex into a hug, arms thrown over his shoulders.

“I was terrified,” he whispered into the space just beneath Henry’s jaw. He heard Henry breathe out slowly above him, and tightened his arms around his waist, fidgeting with the soft fabric of his clothes. 

“Darling,” he said, kissing the top of his head. “I’m okay. It’s just a fracture.”

He nodded against Henry, breathing in deep, before moving away just enough to nudge him back through their apartment. Henry let him lead him to their bedroom, smiling fondly as Alex flopped onto their bed and turned, arms open, inviting him to join. 

Alex pulled him into his arms as soon as his back hit the headboard, arms tightening gently around his shoulders as Henry adjusted himself, resting his cast so it was propped over his stomach in all it’s bright, rainbow glory.

The room was quiet, save for the sound of traffic and neighbours filtering through the window in the early evening. And yet, having another body -  _ Henry’s  _ body - with him in the room made all the difference. 

He wanted to fill the space with everything he had already said. That he loved him; that the panic had been so visceral; that he was terrified; that he had been helpless. 

That he  _ loved  _ him. 

But it had all already been said, and Alex had to let the anxiety dissipate, sooner or later. 

“I love you,” Henry murmured, against his shoulder, like he could feel the words caught on the tip of his tongue. Alex squeezed his arm tighter around him just once. 

“I love you too. I’m sorry I panicked.”

“I’d panic over you too,” Henry said, and Alex laughed.

He paused when Henry’s phone pinged with a notification. Alex watched him turn to reach with his unbroken hand to grab it, sliding it open to see Pez’s Instagram grid. 

“Oh my god,” Henry groaned, as Alex burst into laughter. 

“What the fuck,” he wheezed, snatching the phone out of Henry’s hand before he could hide it away. 

Pez had tagged him in a post.

It was Henry, leaning to the side with his cast held up like he was halfway to a dab, even as he looked off to the side with a wide smile and slightly dazed look in his eyes. His unbroken arm was cocked awkwardly in front of him, and he looked, for all intents and purposes, completely out of his fucking mind. 

And just below was a caption;  _ God Bless The #NHS  _ 🙏🌈

“As if you use the NHS,” Alex said, grinning at Henry, who had hidden his face in the crook of Alex’s neck. 

“Fuck off,” he muttered. 

“It already has a couple thousand likes,” Alex noted; Henry peered back at the screen. “And what seem like many panicked messages in the comments.”

“Looks like people caught your assault of me at the airport too,” Henry mused, reaching up to scroll through the other photos he had been tagged in. There was an absurd amount posted between in the short time it had taken them to get home. 

Alex smiled, and when Henry tilted his head against his shoulder again, he leant down to rest his head atop Henry’s. 

“What a scandal,” he said, “Me loving my boyfriend in public.”

“We’ve already had that,” Henry said, “Another seems excessive. Besides, they seem to be fans.”

“It’s hard not to be a fan of you,” Alex said. 

Henry laughed, and that was enough to silence the anxiety once and for all.

**Author's Note:**

> Yell at me on tumblr @ americanbeautiies
> 
> Also yes/no soft smut sequel? Let me know in the comments 👀


End file.
